For this reason, a point guard is usually, but not always, more skilled and focused on passing than shooting. Hes one of the slower point guards in the league now, but in spite of that, hes almost ubiquitous at times. All-Time #NBArank continues with a countdown of the best shooting guards in NBA history. He gets crossed over pretty easily, and not just by the Associations elite point guards. Some players with tremendous athleticism just dont apply it on both ends of the court. Closing out on shooters, hell go sailing past them. -- Brad Doolittle, Robertson's averaging a triple-double in 1961-62 is probably overrated because it was a product of the fast-paced play in the 1960s, but his role in the Milwaukee Bucks' early '70s championship run is probably underrated. Chris Paul had the awkward situation this year of being smarter than his head coach, Vinny Del Negro. His length is better; he has a 65.75 wingspan. He does a poor job of defending the spot-up, surrendering 1.07 points per play. On the one hand, he doesnt seem cogent enough of his surroundings most of the time to really offer any. All pre-draft measurements were obtained from the database hosted on Draft Express. Sometimes even when hes being smart, he gets a little dumb. He picked up a complicated system almost immediately, and the Bulls were consistently a better defense with Hinrich on the court, in large part because of how well he understood the system. 18.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 7.5APG, .375 FG%, The player Hes not looking at the ball-handler's chest, which makes him susceptible to fakes, so when his opponent breaks, Rose is momentarily frozen. It only looks at the data. Lin is 63 and 200 pounds, which is decent size for a point guard, in the neighborhood of Derrick Rose, Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook. Dubs' Curry (leg) could return as soon as Sun. You never have to question his effort or commitment. The best way to track how effective a player is on the defensive end is by looking at their cumulative defensive win shares. Holiday knows what to do, but he doesnt always do it. Scroll below to see where Stephen Curry ranks among the best point guards in the NBA. -- J.A. Thats largely true. Nash was never known as a strong defender, but he was capable of bothering opposing point guards to some extent. His score represents the average of trying hard and not trying at all once the ball gets past him. An adamant multi-disciplinary journalist, Brian possesses the instincts that are comfortably intrigued by covering and writing the details as minor as the size of Kawhi Leonards hands and as significant as the Trends to watch out for in 2022. Top 50 Point Guards of All-Time: Magic, The Big O and Curry top the List By Jeff McDaniel | Jul 16, 2020, 5:35pm 1. The five-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection has averaged more than 24 points per game since being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2012. He was born on March 23, 1973. Rob Peterson is an NBA editor for ESPN.com. Having above-average size (height, muscle) is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. He only gave up .66 points per play in isolation, but he yielded .86 to the ball-handler on the pick-and-roll. Players Stats: 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 1989-1990 Finals MVP, 12x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection, Hall of Famer. The NBA is a point guard's paradise these days, so let's start All-Time #NBArank with our pantheon points. Nate Archibald 14. 10-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, five-time All-D selection, Hall of Fame, Career stats Normally this would be a list of FAQs, but no one has ever asked any questions (since no one has ever seen it). In addition, Cousy, dubbed "The Houdini of the Hardwood," led the NBA in assists for 8 straight seasons, creating a whole new blend of ball-handling and passing skills for the league. Some players defined their positions. With the increased emphasis on the deep three, point guards account for a large portion of the league's top scorers. Lennys passing and leadership on the floor were solid, but he also had a few great scoring years on the court. To create All-Time #NBArank, we put together a ballot with the 150 greatest players ever. Parker applies himself defensively in bursts, and this appears to be by design. -- Pelton, Perhaps the most incredible part of the Big O's triple-double season is that he finished third in MVP voting (behind winner Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged 50.4 PPG). In the NBA, point guards generally range from 6ft 1in (1.85m) to 6ft 4in (1.93m) whereas in the WNBA, point guards are usually 5ft 9in (1.75m) or shorter. You can be the best shooter in the world, but you can't score if you don't get the ball. Even his athletic scores dont indicate greatness. Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. Please check your email for a confirmation. You dont get the sense in watching him that theres a point of pride in it. Bledsoe spent the majority of his time with Odom, while Chris Paul spent the majority of his time with Jordan, which confuses the on/off ratings. Right now, Westbrook's 11.2 assists and 47.5% assist rate leads the league this season. He owes his charitable demeanour to a group of elementary school parents. He had the best peak for any point guard in NBA history, hands down. Furthermore, he is a legend for the Phoenix Suns and one of the teams finest players. Although Jordan won that battle, theres nothing wrong with being named the third-best defensive player at his position and one of the best shooting guards of all time. The defensive stats arent a good way to determine the totality of defense, but they are a factor and shouldnt be ignored. Hakeem Olajuwon 2. Although Stockton accumulated numerous All-NBA nods, he only made the All-Defensive 2nd Team five times. This is also manifested in his spot-up defense. For example, in the clutch, with the Rockets engaged in a playoff run, the team locked up in a tight battle with the San Antonio Spurs and the score close with less than five minutes remaining, Lin consistently showed the same 90 percent effort he always shows. Its amusing that some people say Rose doesnt apply himself on defense. Sounds great, right? The true driving force of his partnership with Karl Malone. This typically involves setting up plays on the court, getting the ball to the teammate in the best position to score, and controlling the tempo of the game. Jack has good but not great effort. Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. He has 12 All-Star selections, 10 All-NBA selections, nine All-Defensive Team selections, and a second-place MVP finish in his third season at 22. Who's the best offensive point guard of all time? Strictly speaking, he should have a score closer to 20, but because of all the help he is in the locker room and practice, he gets a little leeway. Thats just simply not true, and any amount of watching him play will verify that. He manages to defend the pick-and-roll reasonably well by doing something I can only call bouncing over picks. (Note: Players chosen only if they have played as a shooting guard for most, if not all, of their career.). Its possible for Nash to be the whole offense and to shoot 50-40-90 from the field on a continuous basis. The five best defensive point guards of all time Jarrod Castillo Dec 16, 2019; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul (3) directs his team during a play against the. All rights reserved. His wingspan isnt much better at just 64. He joined the NBA in 1960 and quickly established himself, averaging 30.5 points per game and winning Rookie of the Year. But only once did he actually truly defend the play. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 7, 1974, to a Welsh mother, Jean, and an English father, John. Watching video on Lin gave me one impression that stood out above everything else: his awareness of where he was on the court and where he needed to be. West became synonymous with brilliant basketball during his 14-year playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Its what separates him from being a valuable, slightly overrated defender, and an elite defender. Watching Parker play defense for a while, particularly zooming in on the pick-and-roll plays, his impressive court awareness stands out. Despite the fact that hes just 35, he has a limited amount of time left. -- Kevin Pelton, Teams As a result, hes been a member of the All-Defensive First Team four times and a member of the All-Defensive Second Team five times. He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. Archibald, who was just 61 tall, was able to consistently sink the ball despite his diminutive stature. What are you crying about lmfao 03 Mar 2023 00:55:09 Penny Hardaway was well recognized for his relationship with Shaquille ONeal when he was only a kid. Simply put, defensive win shares (DWS) are defined by how many wins a player produces based on his defensive ability. He closed out on jump-shooters half-heartedly, which is bad enough, but when you combine that with the way he played pick-and-roll plays, it was even worse. I counted off over 20 plays, specifically watching to see if Chalmers would stop the ball-handler, and he only did once. His high rebound rate, while partly indicative of his speed is also a result of positioning, which relates to his IQ. While his pick-and-roll stats, according to Synergy, are excellent, at .68 points per play, half the time he seems to get bailed out by his frontcourt. Then again, the limited number of plays may be, in part, due to the fact that hes so hard to post up. Lets see who has made it to the top 10 best point guards of all time. Doc Rivers has had a lot of input into how Rondo plays the game. As a result, the picks work extremely well. Interpreted as: best point guard defensive rating with a minimum of 2000 minutes played per 82 team games 2022 Players Stats: 14.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG. That helps him to dominate games defensively without having to leave the ground. Jrue Holiday is making . The same applies to any decent basketball argument (or any other kind, for that matter). Although Wilkens is best known as a head coach, he was once an outstanding athlete. He could create at an elite level while also scoring off the dribble from the midrange. During the 1960-1961 season, the then-32-year-old Cousy racked up 6.3 DWS, the most in his career. Of course having book smarts doesnt preclude you from knowing what youre doing on the court either. Honors: 1978-1979 Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 9x All-Defense Selection, 2x All-NBA Team Selection, Hall of Famer. Perhaps next year the Raptors will see better times, and well see less of that kind of behavior, but its a harmful habit to have picked up. (As an aside, in the slides, you will only see the original metric value, not the weighted number to determine the WAM. He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. He gave up 1.01 points per play on the spot-up last year. While blocks and steals can be misleading when taken to exclusively represent defense, they are an aspect of it, so they shouldnt be discounted entirely. His quick feet give him tremendous lateral movement. 1. Hinrich always had a high basketball IQ. He arguably makes more plays on his feet, both offensively and defensively, than anyone else. Lowry just seems to be lost on defense much of the time. While that is by design, he shouldnt get the same credit as players who bring their full attention the entire time theyre on the court. First, a range of 18 to 22 makes it easier to arrive at the eventual score of 100the baseline everything was weighted to. Yet somehow he manages to compensate and do a reasonably fair job of defending, even in isolation. Its interesting that when he plays against elite point guards, or when he plays angrily, he plays much more of a physical game. One of the greatest rebounding guards of all time. But hes slightly built, and that raises some issues, especially when hes caught a fraction of a second behind a play. Finally, both are improving on the defensive side of the ball. Perhaps he just grew weary of Doug Collins' act. The effect was that the Bulls' starters all looked inferior to their backups. The Cleveland Cavaliers relied heavily on Kyrie Irving to take and hit huge shots, even when he was partnered with LeBron James. That said, here are the NBAs five best defensive shooting guards of all-time, based on their DWS. When the team is winning or the game is close, he puts in real effort, but if they are down, he shows noticeably less energy. Sixth-greatest point guard in basketball history. This can cause other players to become disinvolved in the offense. Meanwhile, another player has his numbers go up because he is capable. Johnsons style of play made him especially successful since he was noted for tip-ins and post play around the rim. Phoenix Suns (1996-98, 2004-12), Dallas Mavericks (1998-2004), Los Angeles Lakers (2012-15), Honors James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. The undisputed first great point guard, Cousy remains the only guard in NBA history to be named First-Team All-NBA in 10 straight seasons. Top NBA point guards for 2022-23: Ranking all 30 starters | Sporting News TMGNNS LEBRON Sun, 4:30p DEN CLE 2/23, 4:00p BOS IND 2/23, 4:00p DET ORL 2/23, 4:00p MEM PHI 2/23, 4:30p NOP TOR. Players Stats: 12.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 8.7 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 10x All-Star, 6x All-NBA Selection, 1994-1995 Rookie of the Year, 9x All-Defensive Team Selection, Hall of Famer. Take, for example, Carlos Boozer in 2012. -- Doolittle, Cousy was an And-1 mix tape in black-and-white. Mentally subtract them from the rankings if you feel they shouldn'tbe included. However, despite Chris Paul and Jason Kidds prominence, Steve Nash became a two-time MVP who had no weaknesses on the offensive end. He gets caught thinking, and while he makes the right decision, its a split second too late. MVP (1963-64), 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, Rookie of the Year (1960-61), Hall of Fame, Career stats The most striking thing about Hinrich is just how often he is the initial defender on the play. Norris Coles individual numbers are all better than Chalmers, but he gets docked with lower team numbers. -- Adams, An early ballhandling wizard, he was a point guard who was a focal point at a time when the game was dominated by big men. The Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the 1st team all nine times. By taking the total number of plays and the total number of minutes (regular and postseason combined, because Synergy just throws it all together) we can determine how many times per 36 minutes a player was the initial defender on the play. When people think of NBA point guards, he set the mold. 3. He keeps track of his man when holding back in the lane to cut off passing lanes. Both figures can be obtained by going to any players team page and then clicking on the appropriate name. Photos: Top 10 NBA Point Guards Of All Time. 21.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.9 APG, .441 3P%, We counted down the greatest players in NBA history. Holiday has ample size for a point guard, standing a shade over 64 in shoes, and weighing in at 205 pounds. Players Stats: 17.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 9.1 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 3x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection, 1988-1989 Most Improved Player. There arent a lot of players that could lock down Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time. He defends pick-and-rolls exceptionally well because hes able to shake off picks without much trouble, even pushing around stronger players like Carlos Boozer or Robin Lopez at times. -- Adande, He led the NBA in assists nine straight seasons from 1987 to 1996. It might not seem like much, but for most players, this covered around 30-40 games' worth of defense. Point guard from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America 3 Jason Kidd Point guard from California, United States of America 4 Walt Frazier Point guard from Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America 5 Dennis Johnson 6 Fat Lever Point guard and Shooting guard from Pine Bluff, Arkansas load more Chauncey Billups, or Mr. I gave Paul the highest possible score here to offset the total ineptness of the coaching staff, and the frontcourt help he got last season, but he would have a high score regardless. Thats a difference of almost five points a game given up to point guards. Hes not going to get beaten back, and he doesnt give up in transition. Scoring point guards typically look to score first, thus preventing teammates from getting the ball. But mostly he plays smartly with an occasional brain fart. 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988), Career stats Thats 20th all-time, with Kidd being the only other guard above him. Similarly, while each of the advanced and/or traditional metrics has value, each also misses something. In recent years, the sport's shift from a fundamental style of play to a more athletic, scoring-oriented game resulted in the proliferation of so-called combo guards at the point guard position. That concludes the WAP portion of our programming schedule. Does he know when to help and not to help? Broadly speaking, over 7,000 pieces of data on 226 players, in 16 different categories, were compiled into a database. Still, Nash's greatest historical legacy will be paving the way for Stephen Curry and a new generation of point guards in a league that embraced point guards making plays with a wide-open court. While he recovers most of the time, its worth asking why he gets beaten. This mans achievements are indisputable, and the prospect of him winning a second NBA championship just adds to his greatness. Conley also has crazy hops, measuring a 40.5-inch vertical at the combine, and he is one of the quickest point guards in the league. Sometimes his teammates bailed him out; sometimes the shot just didnt go in. As a result, he rarely gets tangled up with the pick-setter. The players are ranked according to their WAMS. Among the greatest point guards of all time, Tiny is among the finest ever. Second, having a five-point range on a 22-point scale prevents any one statistic from overly dominating the others. Average players struggled, though. He was second among point guards in defensive rebounds per 36 minutes. The average score by point guards was 16.1. You probably cant say right away, because you watched the storyline, not how Harvey dressed. He led the league in total steals this year and did so without playing a lot of gambling defense. Of course, sometimes his opponent scored, too. Their primary job is to facilitate scoring opportunities for their team, or sometimes for themselves. Conley is generously listed at 61 and 180 pounds. Finals MVP, 12-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, Hall of Fame, Career stats Defense is one of the more oft-overlooked aspects of basketball because it isnt as pretty as what happens on the offensive end. Watching specifically for this, I found only three instances in 50 plays where Garnett bailed out Rondo on isolation plays, a rate which is lower than most point guards receiving help. -- Adams, For nine consecutive years, Nash's teams led the NBA in offensive rating. He presses hard as long as the opponent is in front of him, but will frequently give up on the play once the defender is past him. Although Stockton accumulated numerous All-NBA nods, he only made the All-Defensive Second Team five times. He always seems to know exactly where everyone is. At 6-foot-1, he's the shortest NBA Finals MVP in league history, a reflection of his unique ability to dominate at the point guard position. Mar 6, 2020; New York, New York, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul (3) reacts during the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. -- Adande, Teams Boston Celtics (1950-1963), Cincinnati Royals (1969-70), Honors New York Knicks (1967-1977), Cleveland Cavaliers (1977-1980), Honors: Dikembe Mutombo 7. He doesnt use his size exceptionally badly or incredibly well, though. When he applies it, he does so effectively, especially in isolation and the pick-and-roll. 43 views, 0 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from BabyYo: NRG VS KOI Highlights. He is suitable at keeping most players out on the perimeter, but against elite point guards he has more problems. And do they try and recover when they get beaten? When they do, he gets tangled up pretty badly; it happens so rarely, though, youd think he had eyes in the back of his head. Interpreted as: best defensive rating with a minimum of 10000 minutes played point guards in NBA history. Chris Paul is widely considered to be one of the best point guards of the 2010s. That makes him eligible for inclusion on this list of best point guards. Jed Jacobsohn/AP Images. Damian Lillard's nuclear 71-point explosion Sunday night was jaw-dropping and somehow not all that surprising. These point guard rankings will be the first of five articles. His net defensive rating of minus-7.7, combined with his lack of a defensively-solid backup big, is a strong indication of his value as a help defender. Players Stats: 16.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 9x All-Stars, 9x All-NBA Selection, 1990-1991 Rookie of the Year, 9x All-Defensive Team Selection, 1995-1996 Defensive Player of the Year, Hall of Famer. Synergy tracks every play of every game of the season and, when possible (as it is not always possible), they assign an initial defender on a play. -- Peterson, Teams By combining them, we can get a better picture of the whole elephant of a players defense. He doesnt have overwhelming effort that blows you away, but he has earnest effort. Jordans inclusion as the best defensive shooting guard isnt surprising considering his relentless attitude to winning. Young players who are relatively short are now developing the scoring aspects of their skill-sets, whereas previously these players would find it difficult to enter the NBA without true point guard skills. His net defensive rating of 4.2 is an indication of both a lack of his helping and asking for help. Apart from that, he seems to do what hes supposed to be doing when hes away from the ball. The NBA is flush with dominant point guards. Tony Parker is one of the fastest players in the league if youre going by pure speed. Meanwhile, we are presenting the top 10 by position. For the purpose of this study, 82games was used because the net defensive rating was also easily available and it made for consistency. -- Peterson, He's one of only a few players in history who has been deemed too good for the sport's own good. He was the league's third player to reach 25,000 points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). 2. Rose had it all, including speed, explosiveness, and the ability to score when it mattered most. Two-time All-Defensive First Team Four-time All-Star Before having his career derailed by drug use, Micheal Ray Richardson was one of the league's most feared defensive point. A point guard should always look out for teammates and be able to pass well. The second-highest regulation scoring output of the 3-point era was the culmination . Oscar Robertson was one of the NBA's greatest players in history. One of the greatest point guards ever, Jason Kidd could make the flashy pass or the simple play with the best of them while also loving to hightail it in transition to wear opponents down in. Sportbrief has published an article about James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. Thats because they can spend all their energy quickly, while starters have to pace themselves. Each of these has its own value, and those specifics will be discussed more on the next slide. Is that because Chalmers is a better team defender or is it because Cole isnt on the court with James as much? Despite making it to the Western Conference Finals last season, he is yet to make an appearance in the NBA Finals. Like last time . One conundrum has always been how to account for who is guarding the best player on the other team. His Synergy numbers tell the story. There are some serious contenders in Steve Nash and Walter Frazier, so hell have to settle for fourth place in the race. He stands third among the top 10 point guards of all time. Paul, who was born on May 6, 1985, has long been regarded as one of the game's greatest point guards, a fact reinforced by his selection to the 75th Anniversary Team. He also defends well against post-up plays, yielding just .54 points per play, although thats on an admittedly small 17-play sample size. Its not uncommon to see him challenge shots with both feet on the floor. There are few players on this list who can match his incredible scoring, rebounding, and playmaking prowess. He is a natural playmaker with excellent point guard abilities, creating the ideal point guard prototype. An indication of this is the fact that hes had only nine dunks in his career, the last of which was over seven years ago.
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